ZOO 115 Animal Histology Laboratory Exercises

Exercise 11
THE URINARY SYSTEM
The urinary system can be subdivided into two major functional subdivisions: the first is
the kidney, where the process of manufacture of urine takes place. The second subdivision of the
system is the excretory passages, all of the structures for collecting urine and draining it out of
the body: ureter, the bladder, and urethra.
OBJECTIVES: After completing the exercises on the urinary system, you should be able to:
Identify the components of the nephron based on their microscopic appearance.
Identify the components of the juxtaglomerular apparatus.
Identify the ureter and urinary bladder in microscopic sections.
Sketch or photograph structures; locate and label specific parts mentioned in bold face.
1. Kidney, mammal/human, H&E
First identify the capsule, cortex, medulla, and hilum. Around the periphery of the
kidney is the capsule, a dense collagenous connective tissue envelope. Unlike the capsule of
many other organs, this one does not send septa down into the parenchyma. There is almost no
CT scaffolding in the kidney's internal volume. A scanty amount of CT is present, as a means of
ingress and egress for blood vessels, but it's nowhere near as much as would be found in other
organs. It will be difficult to see it on H&E slides, as the organ has remarkably little fibrous
material in it.
Now, differentiate between the cortex and the medulla. The cortex is the outer region; the
medulla is the deeper one. The cortex has large numbers of renal corpuscles, discernible as
round structures containing small blood vessels. The renal corpuscles are the actual site of blood
filtration and the initial stage of urine production. The medulla, deep to the cortex, has no renal
corpuscles, only tubules. Within the cortex define medullary rays and cortical labyrinth.
Observe that the medullary rays consist chiefly of radially oriented tubules, whereas the labyrinth
contains both convoluted tubules and round renal corpuscles. Each medullary ray forms the
central axis of a renal lobule but does not extend all the way out to the capsule. Note that
although there are many corpuscles in the cortex, the bulk of its substance is composed of the
various types of renal tubules that will be discussed below. The medulla has no corpuscles, but
the cortex does have tubules.
In the cortical labyrinth locate the round, hollow renal corpuscle, which consists of a
glomerulus, a capillary complex, and a capsule (of Bowman), an outer shell of epithelium.
Identify the visceral and the parietal epithelial. As you can see from the actual specimen, the
corpuscle is polarized. One end is the site of entry of blood into the capillary tuft (the vascular
pole) and the other end is the beginning of the process of modifying blood filtrate to urine (the
urinary pole). The intra-corpuscular space is called Bowman's space. The glomerulus is
suspended inside Bowman's space.
The parietal layer, the outside wall of the corpuscle, is a thin simple squamous type,
resting on a basal lamina. It's continuous with the cuboidal epithelium of the proximal tubule at
the urinary pole. At the point of entry of the afferent arteriole, the visceral layer is continuous
with the parietal layer, sealing off Bowman's space. The corpuscle is thus built like a thinskinned balloon, in which the glomerulus is suspended.
ATES-CAMINO, Fritzie B. (AY2011-2012), BSES-CSM, UPMindanao

ZOO 115 Animal Histology Laboratory Exercises

The glomerular capillaries are overlain by a specialized visceral layer which consists of
the podocytes. The visceral and parietal layers are continuous with each other at the vascular
pole. You should be able to identify the vascular pole of a good glomerulus by the attachment of
the capillary tuft to the wall of the glomerulus. Notice that the urinary pole leads into the first of
the nephron's passages, the proximal tubule. So what you have here is a sealed, thin-walled bag
around a fluid-filled channel, with a significant pressure across the boundary between the lumen
of the glomerular capillaries and Bowman's space.
Find a good spot in the medulla of the kidney. Preferably a spot in which you are able to
identify a collecting duct (cuboidal to columnar cells, well-defined boundaries between cells,
cytoplasm only weakly stained or unstained, large ducts) and an intermediate (very flat
epithelium, nuclei bulge into the lumen of the tubulus, diameter of the duct is small) and distal
tubule (cuboidal epithelium, cells stain weakly pink). The medulla is subdivided into renal
pyramids, each one with its overlying cortex making up one renal lobe. The base of the
pyramid is contiguous with the cortex and the apex is oriented toward the pelvis and projects into
a minor calyx. Note how the cortex extends down around the sides of the pyramid. These
cortical extensions between pyramids are called renal columns (of Bertin). In the hilar region
note how the minor calyx cups around the apex (papilla) of a pyramid. You may see papillary
ducts (of Bellini) draining into the calyx at the papillary apex (area cribrosa). Examine the
histology of the wall of the calyx.
Turn your attention to the tubules in the cortex. Identify the proximal convoluted
tubules (PCT), the profiles of which dominate the cortical labyrinth. Study the epithelium for
the following characteristics: size and shape of cells, density of cytoplasmic granulation, and
presence of a brush border. Most of the cortical tissue around the renal corpuscles is proximal
tubules, among which the corpuscles are interspersed. The proximal tubule has a wall of simple
cuboidal epithelium with a distinct and prominent microvilli brush border. In microscope
preparations the PCT's are often collapsed (due to cessation of glomerular blood flow upon
death), and large amounts of fuzzy material, representing the remains of the brush border, may
fill the entire lumen of the tubule; but if you look diligently, you should be able to find areas
where microvilli are visible. Only the PCT has such a brush border. The other kidney tubules
don't. The PCT's brush border is of course a specialization for increasing surface area for
absorptive activity.
The next portion of the nephron, the loop of Henle, is made of simple squamous
epithelium. A loop can be identified fairly easily by its thin outer wall and empty lumen. If you
have a sharp eye and a little luck you'll be able to make out the abrupt transition of the
epithelium from cuboidal with microvilli (PCT) to simple squamous (loop). If you're really lucky
(or very persistent) you might find the bottom of the loop, where it curves back on its way up to
the cortex. The forming urine passes from the last part of the PCT into to the loop.
As it comes back up into the cortex region the filtrate passes from the loop of Henle into
the distal tubule (DT). The walls of the DT, like those of the PCT, are of simple cuboidal
epithelium, but they lack a brush border. They also tend to be larger in cross section than the
PCT. The large open lumen, presence of urine, and most especially lack of a brush border
identify this part of nephron as distal tubules. In cross section the DT's are usually quite a bit
larger than PCT's, and will show 4 to 6 nuclei, rather than the 2 to 4 seen in the PCT. Also, the
nuclei of DT cells tend to be closer to the lumen, and to bulge out into it somewhat. The DT isn't
specialized for absorption. Its role is to pump sodium ionsout of its lumen into the surrounding
intracellular space. It does this by active transport, using membrane bound pumps.
ATES-CAMINO, Fritzie B. (AY2011-2012), BSES-CSM, UPMindanao

ZOO 115 Animal Histology Laboratory Exercises

Strictly speaking, the end of the DT marks the terminus of the nephron, but even when
the urine-to-be reaches that point, its modification isn't finished. The last step is to pass it
through the concentration gradient a second time, from cortex to medulla, as a way to make its
final concentration correct. This happens in the collecting tubules and collecting ducts.
The collecting tubule receives the filtrate from the DT and carries it on its lastand most
important trip down through the medulla and out to the world beyond. Collecting tubules are
quite large, with walls formed of cuboidal epithelium. They're larger than the DT and the nuclei
of their mural cells bulge somewhat into the lumen. The cells themselves are rather pale staining
compared to those of the other tubules. Large collecting ducts are formed by the fusion of a
number of collecting tubules, and drain several nephrons. It has a wall of distinctly high cuboidal
to columnar epithelium.
2. Ureter Primate or Human, in H&E, or Massons, or PCT
The renal pelvis is the upper end of the ureter, attached just below the tips of the kidney's
lobes. It catches the urine and drains it out. It is lined with urinary epithelium that is transitional
epithelium.
You should focus your attention first on the epithelium and, second, on the general
appearance of the musculature in the walls of the ureter. The epithelium (transitional
epithelium) rests on a basal lamina, and it has a support of CT in the form of a lamina propria
made of collagenous fibers. In the undistended ureter the mucosa tends to be thown into folds.
The muscularis (all smooth muscle) is extensive and interlaced with connective tissue, and the
orientation of the muscle bundles is rather haphazard. In general there tends to be an inner
longitudinal and an outer circular layer. Identify the outermost layer of the wall, the adventitia.
3. Urinary Bladder, relaxed/distended, H&E
The bladder is a temporary storage organ for urine. The lining is urinary (transitional)
epithelium, extensively folded and puckered in the relaxed state. Supporting the epithelium is a
lamina propria (dense inner and less dense outer layers). There is no submucosa. The wall of
the bladder is similar to that of the ureter, but there are said to be three layers (claimed by some
textbooks) of smooth muscle (muscularis): inner and outer layers are longitudinal, and the
middle more or less circular. The orientation of these is less than perfect, and given the shape of
the bladder, this is perhaps to be expected. There is also a fair amount of elastic connective tissue
in the wall to provide for elasticity and distensibility.
Question: What features of the transitional epithelial cells accommodate for stretching?
4. Urethra, human in H&E
The bladder is finally emptied through the urethra. Initially, the urethra is lined by a
transitional epithelium in males and females. In males, it is replaced by a pseudostratified or
stratified columnar epithelium below the openings of the ejaculatory ducts into the urethra. The
distal parts of the female urethra and the distal end of the male urethra are lined by a stratified
squamous epithelium. The lamina propria contains loose connective tissue. Smooth muscle
cells in the muscularis are mainly oriented longitudinally. They are surrounded, in the middle
part of the urethra (below the prostate in males), by striated muscle cells of the sphincter
urethrae.

ATES-CAMINO, Fritzie B. (AY2011-2012), BSES-CSM, UPMindanao